PM Modi invoked powerful historical references while initiating a special Parliament debate on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, highlighting its revolutionary legacy, spiritual symbolism, and enduring role in India’s struggle against colonial rule and rise of patriotic consciousness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday delivered a historically rich and evocative speech in the Parliament during a special discussion marking the 150th anniversary of India’s National Song, Vande Mataram. The Prime Minister retraced the song’s revolutionary roots, its spiritual metaphors, and its decisive role during India’s long struggle against British colonial rule. The rare debate was organised as a tribute to the enduring power of a composition that shaped the consciousness of generations of freedom fighters.
In his address, PM Modi highlighted how Vande Mataram emerged as a defining symbol of India’s resistance. Penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay nearly 18 years after the Revolt of 1857, the poem was written during an era when the British administration was aggressively promoting the anthem “God Save the King.” The song was therefore both a cultural assertion and a quiet rebellion. Modi reminded the House that the poem was later included in Chattopadhyay’s legendary novel Anandamath, published in 1882.
The setting of Anandamath is the eighteenth-century Sannyasi Rebellion, where Hindu monks rose against the East India Company’s oppressive rule in Bengal. The characters known as Santan dedicated their lives to liberating their Motherland, whom they worshipped as a divine figure. Modi underlined how the lyrics “Vande Mataram” encapsulated the Santan’s reverence toward their homeland, symbolising unshakeable devotion to the land of birth.
The Prime Minister quoted the ancient dictum, “Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi,” which means “Mother and Motherland are greater than Heaven.” He pointed out that this was the core sentiment behind Vande Mataram, which envisioned Mother India not only as a nurturing force but also as a divine embodiment of knowledge, prosperity, and power.
Modi reminded the Parliament that Bankim Chandra portrayed Mother India in multiple divine forms. As the Goddess of learning and wealth, she represented the nation’s civilisational richness, while in confronting enemies she appeared as the weapon-wielding Goddess Chandi, a fierce manifestation of Goddess Durga. The Prime Minister also recited the portion of Vande Mataram where Chattopadhyay describes Durga’s boundless energy and might.
In Anandamath, the Santan worshipped three symbolic images of the Mother:
The Mother that was – gloriously radiant, representing India’s prosperous past.
The Mother that is – suffering and subdued under foreign rule.
The Mother that will be – rejuvenated, powerful, and destined for future greatness.
These forms reflected India’s collective consciousness: the pain of subjugation and the hope for spiritual and national resurgence. Modi acknowledged Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation, where the Mother was envisioned holding “trenchant steel in her twice seventy million hands,” symbolising strength rather than helplessness.
The Prime Minister stressed that Vande Mataram was not only about fighting colonial forces but also about igniting a movement of self-reliance or Swadeshi. He described the song as a mantra that fueled courage and moral strength during the freedom struggle. It remained a potent rallying cry during important movements, including the Swadeshi Movement of 1905.
He recalled that the song was first sung publicly by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Congress Session in Calcutta, decades before it became India’s National Song in 1950 through the Constituent Assembly. Internationally too, its influence was significant—Madam Bhikaji Cama inscribed Vande Mataram on the tricolour flag when she unfurled it in Stuttgart in 1907, marking a defining moment for the global Indian freedom movement.
Before its publication as a novel, Anandamath was serialised in the Bangadarshan magazine in 1881, edited by Chattopadhyay himself. From then on, Vande Mataram transformed into a cultural and spiritual declaration of national pride, inspiring revolutionaries across the subcontinent.
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As the Parliament echoed with references to history, philosophy, and patriotism, PM Modi concluded that Vande Mataram will continue to guide the nation not only as a reminder of its struggle against slavery but also as a timeless call for unity, courage, and self-dependence.
